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    • Occupy Boston Artists to Host Night of Conversation & Action Featuring Artist Steve Lambert

    April 22nd, 2012 · · News and Announcements Comments Off on Occupy Boston Artists to Host Night of Conversation & Action Featuring Artist Steve Lambert

    Steve Lambert’s Capitalism Works for Me True/False, currently being shown at various locations in Boston

    Lambert at Occupy Boston in October with one of the many signs he made with Josh Luke

    On April 28, 2012 from 5:00PM to 10:00PM, artists from Occupy Boston will host a gathering with artist and cultural provocateur Steve Lambert. Taking place at Samsøn (450 Harrison Avenue), this event will be an opportunity for Lambert and the greater Occupy community to connect over questions of messaging, humor, culture jamming, and creative activism as the movement heads into the coming seasons. Following the discussion, we will screen the film The Yes Men Fix the World.

    Lambert’s work includes The New York Times Special Edition produced with the Yes Men and many other groups in 2008 and distributed in cities across the US carrying headlines such as “Iraq War Ends,” “Maximum Wage Law Passed” and “All Public Universities to Be Free.” More recently, Lambert’s gigantic, sign/scoreboard Capitalism Works For Me,True/False is touring the country posing a personal question its viewers can vote on.

    The Present Group writes of Lambert’s work, “These bits of provocation get people thinking (and talking) about how they act, what they believe, how they imagine the world around them, and how they imagine it could be.” With the School for Creative Activism, Lambert has taught workshops that infuse creative tactics with traditional community organizing and civic engagement.

    Lambert, along with painter Josh Luke, produced signs for many of the tents in the Dewey Square occupation in October 2010. Intending to produce change, he’s given simple advice for how to do more than “raise awareness” while maintaining a positive attitude. Join us on the 28th as we recharge our creative batteries and rehash the radical. Spring is upon us. There is difficult and enjoyable work to be done, absurd futures to dream up, and important questions to ask ourselves in the next stages of the Occupation. We think art and creative action should play a significant role in the shapes, forms, and modes of communication and performance employed in these next steps.

    Occupy Boston Daily Digest for 4-22-12

    April 22nd, 2012 · · Daily Digest Comments Off on Occupy Boston Daily Digest for 4-22-12

    Good Morning from Occupy Boston!

    Stories of the Day: The winners of the Boston Occupier’s Haiku Contest have been announced, and second prize went to – well, me! But here’s one I wrote that didn’t win: Democracy blooms/Dissent is patriotic/Love, evolve, revolt! Congratulations to all the winners! To read the winning entries, click here! In other news: In an effort to uncover the source of bomb threats sent to the University of Pittsburgh, the FBI seized an entire server on Wednesday that is used by anonymous remailing service Mixmaster as well as several progressive rights groups. The server was seized from a co-location facility in New York with a search warrant served by the FBI. … the server was [also] used by the Seattle-based digital activist group Riseup Networks, as well as May First/People Link, a politically progressive internet service provider. The server was operated by European Counter Network, an ISP based in Italy. For more, click here. And check out this informative website: HowToCamp/HowToOccupy is conceived to promote and spread the methods, techniques and knowledge about peaceful occupation of public spaces while developing sustainable ways of living based on participatory democracy … Our goal is to establish an universal and accessible database made up of documents related to peaceful civil disobedience and grassroots practices, spreading it physically and on-line to the very assemblies, occupations and groups around the whole world. And: two days before the NYPD’s eviction of the Occupy Wall Street encampment from Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan, Brookfield Properties’ security was in direct communications and sharing information with the U.S. Park Police in Washington, D.C., and communicating with other cities around the country, according to newly released internal documents from the National Park Service. The documents were released late Friday to the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) in response to the civil rights legal group’s FOIA demands to the NPS, FBI, CIA, DHS and other federal law enforcement agencies seeking information about the role of Federal agencies in the coordinated nationwide crackdown that led to the eviction of Occupy encampments in cities throughout the United States. The request was made also on behalf of author and filmmaker Michael Moore and the National Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Committee. For more, click here.  And here’s another great update on a song from West Side Story, by Occupy Wall Street – The Debt Song (“when you’re in debt, you’re in debt all the way…”)

    Other Occupies/Protests: TENTS ALONG THE ALEWIFE MONDAY – CALLING ALL OCCUPIERS! Occupy Arlington occupies Alewife Brook: No more development in the Alewife Watershed, no more sewage in the Alewife Brook. In honor of Earth Day, Monday April 23, set up 5:30am, action begins at 6am. Bring pop-up tents if you own them. If you are so moved dress up as silver maples or alewives. Meet at the benches in the passenger drop-off area and be ready to occupy some of the area of Alewife to protest the dumping of sewage in Alewife Brook and the threatened development of the Silver Maple Reservation. For additional information or to RSVP,  contact Occupy Arlington: https://www.facebook.com/events/277301135692232

    “The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them.” Karl Marx

    Upcoming Events:

    • Tuesday, April 24, 10am-8pm, Occupy Brandeis is hosting The Great Teach-In on the Great Lawn. For the schedule of events, click here.
    • The Occupy Boston Media Working Group has dissolved. To try to help us explore how the entire community can be empowered to create its own media, we invite /urge you, the community, to participate in a conversation about the future of media work at Occupy Boston next Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 7pm at Encuentro 5 (5th floor, 33 Harrison Ave, Boston). We will discuss the best way to reallocate existing resources in a way that is equitable and consistent with OB’s values.
    • What is Occupy Wall Street? A film screening. Occupy HCC (Holyoke Community College) is hosting a film screening of short films produced by Occupy Wall Street in the Forum at HCC, April 27, 3pm-5pm. Come and find out about the Occupy Movement that started on Wall St. and has spread across the globe! There will be a Q&A session following the films with activists from different Occupy groups across the Northeast. This event is sponsored by the Holyoke Community College Student Senate.
    • MA Unite Against the War on Women Rally, April 28, 10am-2pm, at City Hall Plaza. Help defend women’s rights and pursuit of equality. Join Americans all across the United States as we come together as one to tell members of Congress in Washington DC and legislators in all 50 states, “Enough is enough!” All Americans have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, including contraception, without interference from government, business or religious institutions. Please join us as we gather together and show both state and federal legislative bodies that we won’t stand silently by as they propose and pass laws that will impact women’s choices, health, and wellbeing. We need everyone’s voice! These decisions affect all genders, races, and socio-economic statuses!
    • Boston New Sanctuary Movement Presents A Return to A Faithful UnderstandingAn Interfaith Conference: Toward a More Compassionate National Debate on Immigration, Sunday, April 29, 2012, 12:30 – 5 p.m.  (12-1, lunch provided by Brazilian Immigrant Center), Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St., Boston, MAWorship leader:  Rev. Rob Mark, Pastor, Church of the Covenant, Boston, Presbyterian/UCCSpeakers, Reflection leaders:  Members of the Boston New Sanctuary Movement. Schedule: 12:30  Registration; 1:00 Welcome, opening reflection; 1:15  Current Immigration issues in Boston, and the Boston New Sanctuary Movement; 1:40 Workshops, period I; 3:10 Workshops, period II; 4:40 Closing reflection; 5:00    Networking. 
      • May 1 General Strike! A Day Without the 99%. NO WORK – NO SCHOOL – NO SHOPPING – NO BANKING – NO TRADING. GENERAL STRIKE AND BOYCOTT CALLED! 7am-11am: Financial District Block Party! (corner of Federal and Franklin Streets). Bring a friend and let’s party! Bring whistles, drums, noise makers. Bring street theater ! 12:00pm: Boston City Hall Rally. Can’t make it to Boston City Hall at Noon? Well how about: The Chelsea City Hall? – Gather at Noon – March at 2pm (For More information please contact La Colaborativa (617) 889-6097). 2pm: LoPresti Park Rally/March (Blue Line: Maverick Square) (For more information contact Dominic at City life/Vida Urbana (617) 710-7176). 4pm: Everett – Glendale Park (For more information please contact La Comunidad (617) 387-9996). 7pm: Death of Capitalism Boston Funeral March (Copley Square). We invite people to participate in this piece of street theater which includes puppets, a marching band, and other creative surprises. People will begin gathering at 7pm at Copley Square Park (by the steps of Trinity Church) to put on costumes, puppets and face-paint and get info on their respective role in the funeral procession. We ask that people participate as: mourners (dressed in black), celebrators (wearing neon/bright colors/glow stuff), skeleton block (bring your own skeleton costume). The funeral procession will leave Copley Square Park at 8pm and will travel through areas of wealth and commerce.
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    General Assembly Supports an Alternative Decision Making Process – Consensus

    April 22nd, 2012 · · General Assembly, Passed Resolutions Comments Off on General Assembly Supports an Alternative Decision Making Process – Consensus

    The following proposal passed General Assembly, On April 21, 2012.

    Need:   The current GA process is centered around written proposals. This conflates “decisions to be made” with “solutions to issues” – the only way to raise an issue in the GA is to have a solution ready in proposal form. Furthermore, the requirement of written proposals has a potential for discrimination along class, level of education, and native-speaker lines. To be more inclusive and to facilitate better decision making, a new process is necessary.
    Proposal: A new process for decision making should be created. This process would exist in parallel with the current process – that is, this would be a new process that would exist in addition to the old process, which would still exist. It would be up to the proposer to decide whether to use the new process or the old. The process follows:
    1. A Proposer will raise an issue requiring a decision to be made. They will say why they felt a decision needed to be made, and offer a solution if they have one
    2. The process will then enter a “understanding” round in the full assembly. People will offer points of information and clarifying questions to understand the issue at hand.
    3. The assembly will then break into facilitated small group discussions to hash out what the issue is and what possible solutions could be. Notes would be taken. Groups will try to come to consensus – small groups can come up with new ideas and solutions and amend them as they go.
    4. When the break-out groups return to the full assembly, they’ll report back. Every significant thread of discussion should be reported to the GA, with an aim to making sure all serious concerns are heard so they can be resolved.
    5. Discussion would continue in the full assembly. If at this point consensus is emerging the facilitator will reflect it and check if we’re ready to move to consensus.
    If it comes time to check for consensus, consensus process would proceed like this:
    Every member of the assembly would register via hand signals one of three options: voicing for, standing aside, or voicing against. A voice FOR means that you support the consensus . A stand-aside means that you have concerns that prevent you from supporting the consensus, but these concerns are not significant enough to make you want to stop consensus from proceeding. A voice against means you have serious concerns and would not be willing to let the consensus.
    If there are no voices against and at least one voice in favor, the GA has consensus. If not, we can attempt to resolve concerns to try to achieve consensus, or back up and return to discussing the original point of discussion, either in small groups again or in the full assembly; additionally, if it seems to be the sense of the GA, we can table the discussion entirely.
    Coming to consensus does not necessarily mean that discussion ceases. Some issues will require several different decisions be made. Some discussions will be resolved quickly in one session; other discussions will take place over multiple sessions.

    The OB Media Rundown for 4/22/12

    April 21st, 2012 · · Daily Media Rundown Comments Off on The OB Media Rundown for 4/22/12

    May Day Directory: Occupy General Strike In Over 115 Cities

    While American corporate media has focused on yet another stale election between Wall Street-financed candidates, Occupy has been organizing something extraordinary: the first truly nationwide General Strike in U.S. history. Building on the international celebration of May Day, past General Strikes in U.S. cities like Seattle and Oakland, the recent May 1st Day Without An Immigrant demonstrations, the national general strikes in Spain this year, and the on-going student strike in Quebec, the Occupy Movement has called for A Day Without the 99% on May 1st, 2012. This in and of itself is a tremendous victory. For the first time, workers, students, immigrants, and the unemployed from over 115 U.S. cities will stand together for economic justice.

    http://tinyurl.com/bt6ly5h

    Latest campaign report: Elite embezzler who sacked MF Global ‘bundles’ $500,000 for Obama campaign

    Barack Obama’s reelection campaign has released the most recent list of names of fundraising bundlers. On that list is Jon Corzine, the former governor of New Jersey and embattled money man, the former head of MF Global.

    Corzine, according to the Obama campaign, has once again helped raise more than $500,000.

    “MF Global and its brokerage sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a $6.3 billion bet on the bonds of some of Europe’s most indebted nations prompted regulator concerns and a credit rating downgrade. Corzine quit MF Global Nov. 4,” Bloomberg reported.

    http://tinyurl.com/bnq6qn7

    MF Global: The Untold Story of the Biggest Wall Street Collapse Since Lehman

    Only on Wall Street can you bankrupt a company; misplace $1.6 billion of customers’ money; lose 75 percent of shareholders’ money in two weeks; speed dial a high priced criminal attorney and get a court to authorize the payment of your multi-million dollar legal tab from the failed company’s insurance policies; have regulators waive your requirements to take licensing exams required to work in the securities and commodities industry; have your Board of Directors waive your loyalty to the firm; run a bucket shop out of the UK; and still have the word “Honorable” affixed to your name in a Congressional investigations hearing.

    http://tinyurl.com/7ykja5s

    American class war – Murder, suicide and financial ruin

    (video)

    “There are murders and suicides – or murder-suicides – in foreclosed homes, people burning their homes down with themselves inside, or shooting policemen or locksmiths who come to evict them from their foreclosed-on homes. Behind all this is crime, is predatory banking fraud and crime to fleece people who don’t know they’re being fleeced, who trust in the system still too much, and who are not as sophisticated as these fraudsters.”

    http://tinyurl.com/7suzsjo

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    Occupy Boston Daily Digest for 4-21-12

    April 21st, 2012 · · Daily Digest Comments Off on Occupy Boston Daily Digest for 4-21-12

    Good Morning from Occupy Boston!

    Stories of the Day: New England’s longest-running “Occupy” encampment, Occupy New Haven, was evicted Wednesday. For more, click here. And three Occupy New Haven members have gone underground. For an interview with them [written in a slightly condescending tone], click here. And although Walmart claims to be monitoring its factories’ compliance with environmental and labor rules, its auditing system is plagued by corruption. What’s more, many factories outsource more than half their work to “shadow” factories—unregulated operations that auditors never visit at all. For more, and for infographics on how big Walmart really is, click here. And: the wealthiest Americans believe they’ve earned their money through hard work and innovation, and that they’re the most productive members of society. … [But] they’re not nearly as productive as middle-class workers. Yet they’ve taken almost all the new income over the past 30 years. For more, see Five Reasons Why The Very Rich Have NOT Earned Their Money. And Do the Wealthy Lie, Cheat, and Steal More Than the Rest of Us? The simple answer appears to be “Yes.” For more, click here.

    Other Occupies/Protests: Announcement posted in solidarity on behalf of the Mental Health Movement by the Occupy Chicago Press Committee: The Mental Health Movement occupation at the Woodlawn Mental Health Clinic is demanding that the city:

    1. Keep all 12 city mental health clinics public, open, fully funded and fully staffed
    2. Stop plans to privatize Chicago’s 7 neighborhood health centers
    3. Hire more doctors, therapists, nurses, social workers and other clinic staff
    4. Reinstate the drug assistance program
    5. Expand the public mental health safety net to cover unmet community need

    This occupation is a part of an going campaign, led by patients from all 12 clinics facing closure, to defend Chicago mental health clinics from closure and privatization. The Mental Health Movement has been organizing around this issue, using a diversity of tactics including writing letters, meeting with politicians and health boards, taking direct actions, occupying their own clinic and now occupying a lot outside of the clinic. Two of the patients who used to be served by Woodlawn have already been admitted to the psychiatric ward because they could no longer get the help they needed in their neighborhood.  Money being taken away from clinics while Chicago corporations get tax cuts is directly related to the Occupy movement’s main issues. For more info directly from the mouths of Woodlawn’s patients, check out their press releases at:http://www.facebook.com/PressCOMM/notes

    “You assist an evil system most effectively by obeying its orders and decrees. An evil system never deserves such allegiance. Allegiance to it means partaking of the evil. A good person will resist an evil system with his or her whole soul.” Mohandas K. Gandhi

    Upcoming Events:

    • Tuesday, April 24, 10am-8pm, Occupy Brandeis is hosting The Great Teach-In on the Great Lawn. For the schedule of events, click here.
    • The Occupy Boston Media Working Group has dissolved. To try to help us explore how the entire community can be empowered to create its own media, we invite /urge you, the community, to participate in a conversation about the future of media work at Occupy Boston next Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 7pm at Encuentro 5 (5th floor, 33 Harrison Ave, Boston). We will discuss the best way to reallocate existing resources in a way that is equitable and consistent with OB’s values.
    • What is Occupy Wall Street? A film screening. Occupy HCC (Holyoke Community College) is hosting a film screening of short films produced by Occupy Wall Street in the Forum at HCC, April 27, 3pm-5pm. Come and find out about the Occupy Movement that started on Wall St. and has spread across the globe! There will be a Q&A session following the films with activists from different Occupy groups across the Northeast. This event is sponsored by the Holyoke Community College Student Senate.
    • MA Unite Against the War on Women Rally, April 28, 10am-2pm, at City Hall Plaza. Help defend women’s rights and pursuit of equality. Join Americans all across the United States as we come together as one to tell members of Congress in Washington DC and legislators in all 50 states, “Enough is enough!” All Americans have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, including contraception, without interference from government, business or religious institutions. Please join us as we gather together and show both state and federal legislative bodies that we won’t stand silently by as they propose and pass laws that will impact women’s choices, health, and wellbeing. We need everyone’s voice! These decisions affect all genders, races, and socio-economic statuses!
    • Boston New Sanctuary Movement Presents A Return to A Faithful UnderstandingAn Interfaith Conference: Toward a More Compassionate National Debate on Immigration, Sunday, April 29, 2012, 12:30 – 5 p.m.  (12-1, lunch provided by Brazilian Immigrant Center), Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St., Boston, MAWorship leader:  Rev. Rob Mark, Pastor, Church of the Covenant, Boston, Presbyterian/UCCSpeakers, Reflection leaders:  Members of the Boston New Sanctuary Movement. Schedule: 12:30  Registration; 1:00 Welcome, opening reflection; 1:15  Current Immigration issues in Boston, and the Boston New Sanctuary Movement; 1:40 Workshops, period I; 3:10 Workshops, period II; 4:40 Closing reflection; 5:00    Networking. 
      • May 1 General Strike! A Day Without the 99%. NO WORK – NO SCHOOL – NO SHOPPING – NO BANKING – NO TRADING. GENERAL STRIKE AND BOYCOTT CALLED! 7am-11am: Financial District Block Party! (corner of Federal and Franklin Streets). Bring a friend and let’s party! Bring whistles, drums, noise makers. Bring street theater ! 12:00pm: Boston City Hall Rally. Can’t make it to Boston City Hall at Noon? Well how about: The Chelsea City Hall? – Gather at Noon – March at 2pm (For More information please contact La Colaborativa (617) 889-6097). 2pm: LoPresti Park Rally/March (Blue Line: Maverick Square) (For more information contact [redacted]). 4pm: Everett – Glendale Park (For more information please contact La Comunidad (617) 387-9996). 7pm: Death of Capitalism Boston Funeral March (Copley Square). We invite people to participate in this piece of street theater which includes puppets, a marching band, and other creative surprises. People will begin gathering at 7pm at Copley Square Park (by the steps of Trinity Church) to put on costumes, puppets and face-paint and get info on their respective role in the funeral procession. We ask that people participate as: mourners (dressed in black), celebrators (wearing neon/bright colors/glow stuff), skeleton block (bring your own skeleton costume). The funeral procession will leave Copley Square Park at 8pm and will travel through areas of wealth and commerce.
      • Keep Immigrant Families Together! Stop the Raids and Deportations! Prayer Vigil for Immigrant Detainees, Sunday, May 6th, 2 p.m.Suffolk County House of Correction, 20 Bradston St., BostonFor more information about the vigil, contact our Facebook page, or email SocialAction@ascboston.org. www.bostonnewsanctuary.org. Immigration through Faith: Faith through Immigration – Personal experiences of immigration as a moral and religious issue. A facilitated panel discussion exploring personal experiences of faith and immigration. This session is designed to help participants articulate and claim religious language and relevancy in a conversation dominated by secular and political messages. The panel discussion will be followed by an open period for questions and reflections.U.S. Immigration History and Your Faith:  We will look at who came and why?  What laws were enacted as barriers?  What role have people of faith played in this history?  Immigrant Stories in the Struggle for Workers Rights:  We will also ask where we find ourselves in the story, and who belongs here? To register, go to www.bostonnewsanctuary.org, or call Newell Hendricks at 617 876-5038. $10 suggested donation
    • Occupy New England – M12 Day of Action and Regional Gathering. 9am-5:30pm, May 12: Come join Occupy groups from all around New England as we converge in Worcester for a day of action and networking! The day will have four core key components to it: getting as many Occupy groups and participants in one centralized location at the same time for a day of networking and planning, direct actions and public visibility, continued actions against corporations backing ALEC, and finally the flared up “War on Women” – discussion on women’s issues (rights, health care, etc…)Preliminary timeline of events:
      (Please note the following is a rough draft discussed by Occupy Worcester and the M12 working group. More details will be released later on, and times/actions are subject to change.)
      9 am: Begin gathering at Worcester Common
      10 am: Second New England Solidarity March
      Late morning: Direct Action (w/ CD potential)
      Midday: Occupy New England gathering. Have lunch and talk a lot to each other.
      Mid afternoon: Occupy Worcester’s Women’s Caucus event, details TBA
    • MAY 17 – Nationally recognized transgender activist and member of Occupy Boston Gunner Scott will be honored with The Theater Offensive’s Out on the Edge award. As Executive Director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, Scott led the battle for passage of the Massachusetts Transgender Equal Rights Bill in November. The Transgender Equal Rights Bill, also known as An Act Relative to Gender Identity, makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender identity in the areas of employment, housing, public education and credit & lending.Who: Transgender activist Gunner ScottWhat: The Theater Offensive honors Scott with Out on the Edge awardWhen: Thursday, May 17 @ 6:30 pmWhere: Hibernian Hall (184 Dudley St, Roxbury)

      Open to the Public: Yes (with ticket purchase)

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